Marijuana Plantation Found North of Malibu
A total of 1,621 mature marijuana plants up to 16 feet tall were chopped down and removed Wednesday from a secluded, heavily camouflaged field at the foot of a steep hill in the Santa Monica Mountains, sheriff’s deputies said.
The discovery of the plants was made Tuesday afternoon on a steep slope about 300 yards below Saddle Peak Road near Stunt Road after deputies fielded an anonymous call tipping them off to the illicit plantation, Sgt. Bob Stoneman said.
Deputies got the call Monday, but aerial and foot searches of the area in the canyons about 5 miles north of Malibu Beach at first missed the plants, which were covered by camouflage cloth, Stoneman said.
“It appears to be a sophisticated operation that has been going on for some time,” Stoneman said.
Crews chopped down the plants, and a sheriff’s helicopter airlifted bundles out of the mountains to a fire station in the Malibu hills, Stoneman said.
No suspects were in custody.
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